Thanks to the folks at RITA and the Kandiyohi County & City of Willmar Economic Development Commission, we have a fun update on what’s happening with one projects from the event…

[Here’s] an update about the MNyou website that came from the 2016 Hack2o. Upon receiving funds from Blandin, we were able to utilize the majority of the funds by purchasing server space, web design work and coding work.

In January, we lost two of our most vital coders due to scheduling conflicts and building of the website came to a halt. In February, we brought on two coders interested in the project but had very little experience with the .net framework the original site was structured in.

After bouncing back and forth, one of the coders is continuing work in .net and learning as he goes; while the other switches formats. Our intention is to have the framework on both platforms ready to put on display at the MN Cup competition later this Spring.

On a side note, our group has turned the idea for this website into something much bigger. To accompany the idea for our “food facebook” website, we are also working with the MinnWest Campus and WDD to utilize their greenhouse and 4-acre plot of land to hire underrepresented youth to research, grow vegetables, both common and uncommon to Minnesota, and market those vegetables throughout the community to promote healthy eating. We have partnered with many markets throughout Willmar to fulfill their needs and have already recruited 16 youth to work on the project.

The website will be a great way to market our produce and to tell the story of the Willmar community while also giving the entire region a centralized location to find the foods they are looking for.

Fun to see the ripples from the project! Here’s a reminder of the original project

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About Ann Treacy

I have a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science. I have been interested or involved in providing access to information through the Internet since 1994, when I worked for Minnesota’s first Internet service provider. I am pleased to be a part of the Blandin on Broadband Team. I also work with MN Coalition on Government Information, Minnesota Rural Partners, and the American Society for Information Science and Technology.